Flavor Boulevard

Bánh cuốn Hoa – The rule of the steamed rolls

Mai — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:05:53 +0000

Like with most Asian eating establishments, it’s virtually impossible to answer the question “what is the best Vietnamese restaurant in [name of city]?” Let me stay there for about half a year, and I can tell you where to get the best pho, the best cha gio, the best bun thit nuong, the best banh [...]

The highs and lows of Plum

Mai — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:15:40 +0000

There seems to be a new trend in the East Bay restaurant business: it has to be hidden and/or without a sign. First it was embarrassing walking up and down the street to find Commis, and now the same thing happens with Plum. Is this some kind of scavenger hunt joke?

Plum‘s menu is short and [...]

Lychee and mung bean che (Chè đậu xanh trái vải)

Mai — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:31:53 +0000

This dessert requires no skill in the making, but it ranks way up in the chè hierarchy, topping taro che and my own banana tapioca pudding. Beside the fact that Little Mom invented it, I always like things with lychee.

Because everyone’s sweet tooth differs, it doesn’t make sense to have a fixed recipe [...]

Central Vietnamese rice cracker roll (bánh đa cuốn thịt)

Mai — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:05:13 +0000

It’s the 29th of the 12th month in the lunar calendar. The last day of the Year of the Cat. The last day before Tet officially starts. But the preparation for Tet is also Tet. Having a good time is also Tet. Being home is also Tet. One of the best parts of [...]

My twelve best meals in the Year of the Cat

Mai — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:15:45 +0000

Appetizers from Saigon Buffet

Today marks the 28th day of the 12th month of the Year of the Cat, and it’s not the Year of the Rabbit because I’m Vietnamese. This year started with a piping jeongol at Casserole House and will be ended with a cup of Tieguanyin in bed. This year my luck [...]

Rustic Italian in the old tavern

Mai — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:15:12 +0000

The 7-year-old Antica Osteria is much too young to be one of “the nurseries of our legislators”, but it sure feels like one: warm brick walls, dark wood work, an old house nested in the green, sleepy residential area northwest of Rice University, and a patronage mainly composed of old white men. The smell of [...]

French and Texan intertwined at Phillippe of Houston

Mai — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:05:07 +0000

Every year just after the winter holiday hustle and bustle, Mom and Dad let me choose a restaurant for my early birthday dinner. Last year it was Martin’s Place for barbecue. Dad never tells me no, but let’s just say that Mom didn’t feel too confident of my aesthetics since then. This year she gently [...]

Tricitronnade – Three-in-one Lemonade

Mai — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:27:38 +0000

The triple punch from Little Mom: orange, lemon, and salted lime.

Like instant ramen and popsicles, it all started from the leftovers: half a glass of a-little-too-salty salted lime drink, half a too-sour-to-eat orange, another half glass of normal lemonade (although Little Mom’s lemonade is not quite like any other lemonade, in a good way), and [...]

Year in, year out, savoring the savoriest of pork

Mai — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:49:44 +0000

If you had to choose, what is the most Vietnamese dish? If you are a Vietnamese expat, what would make your mouth water the most just thinking about? What is the food, the smell, the taste that when you see or hear some stranger is savoring, you’d immediately think, “hey, he must be my fellow [...]

The night before Christmas at Kata Robata

Mai — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:40:46 +0000

Last night I was reading this manga, Oishii Kankei (“Delicious Relationship”), and two things there reminded me of my family: a family of three who love to eat out and explore new restaurants, and the girl who can’t cook (but she has a better sense of taste than me, it’s a story after all [...]